Taste of winter sparks multiple crashes

Ontario Provincial Police have responded to multiple crashes, including one fatal, following flurries across southwestern Ontario.

The most severe incident occurred on Highway 6, near Caledonia. OPP Constable Mark Foster says a young boy and a woman in her late 20s or early 30s died as a result of a six vehicle pileup. The age of the boy is not known at this time. The crash involved five cars and a transport truck.

OPP say Highway 6 will be closed for several hours as a result but won’t confirm whether the crash was weather related.

Waterloo Regional police officers were kept just as busy. Between 2pm and 5pm, Police responded to 39 calls; nearly all of them motor vehicle collisions.

Sergeant Scott Richardson with WRPS is reminding motorists to drive to the conditions. “We just encourage people to slow down. Obviously the roads are getting worse as the evening goes on and we want to make sure people get to their destinations so leave yourself plenty of time and certainly make sure your vehicle is in good working order before you leave your home.”

Earlier Friday morning, Icy roads and freezing drizzle left a thin glaze of ice on Highway 400, south of Barrie, which resulted in several vehicles spinning off the road and into each other.

A stretch of the highway was closed from Highway 89 to Innisfil Beach Road for about five hours as a result.

There were four crash scenes along that stretch of roadway with one involving four vehicles. One vehicle flipped onto its roof, sending a woman to hospital with life-threatening injuries.

The forecast calls for two to five centimetres of snow, depending on where you are in southwestern Ontario. However, by Saturday night temperatures are expected to climb to seven degrees.

With files from The Canadian Press

Photos

MyNews

If you are on the scene of breaking news and capture it with your mobile device, share your pictures or video with MyNews.